Chesapeake, VA to Melbourne, FL

Total Miles Traveled 5544 since departing Green Turtle Bay, KY

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Our stay at the Atlantic Yacht Basin took longer than we had planned, and we wanted to be at Cocoa, Florida for Thanksgiving to visit with family, so we kept moving as the weather permitted this month.

We departed Chesapeake Virginia on November 4^th and traveled 38 miles to Coinjock, North Carolina. This is our first time cruising this section of the Intracoastal Waterway and the restaurant at Coinjock is a must stop, featured in almost all of the cruising publications and boating forums for it’s famous 32 oz prime rib. I must admit, I was impressed, I ordered the 16 oz Mates Cut, almost 2 inches thick and melt in your mouth tender.

On November 5^th, we traveled 53 miles to an anchorage on the Pungo River, then traveled 55 miles to the RE Mayo seafood docks on the 6th. We purchased fresh shrimp for the freezer, and had shrimp scampi for dinner….awesome.

We traveled 70 miles on November 7^th to an anchorage at Swansboro, North Carolina. The Onslow swing bridge is under construction south of Swansboro with restricted hours for passage. The bridge delays have caused a congestion for the southbound migration of boaters heading south for warmer weather. Our first option for anchorage was full of boats, and only room for us at our second anchorage option.

On November 8^th, we timed our departure for the bridge opening and traveled 16 miles to Mile Hammock Bay near Sneads Ferry, North Carolina. Mile Hammock Bay is located at the camp Lejeune Marine Corps Base. This bay is in a restricted area, but anchoring is permitted without shore access. The occasional helicopter flyover, distant artillery explosions, and automatic gun fire can be experienced throughout the day. This is a protected anchorage from wind and waves and with 15-25 mph winds forecasts for overnight and the 9^th, we decided to stay with 16 other anchored boats. One boat broke loose overnight and was run aground in shallow waters. Luckily it was a couple hundred feet from us as it passed by our boat before running aground.

We traveled 52 miles on November 10^th to Carolina Beach, North Carolina. Our plan was to get a mooring ball for the night, but we’re finding that with the congestion of boats moving south, the anchorages and marina’s were full. The city marina had room for one night, so we were able to grab a few grocery’s, eat at the locals famous burger joint, and visited the beach.

On November 11^th, we traveled 81 miles to an anchorage near Bucksport, South Carolina, then 31 miles on November 12^th, to Georgetown, South Carolina. We stopped at Georgetown on our way north in May, a cool little town next to the marina with restaurants and shops.

On November 13^th we traveled 47 miles to an anchorage near Charleston, South Carolina and continued on the 14^th 55 miles to an anchorage near Green Pond, South Carolina, then on the 15^th 61 miles to an anchorage at Bull Creek, near Hilton Head, South Carolina. It gets interesting timing 8-9 foot tidal swings when planning an anchorage.

Full Moon anchored near Hilton Head, SC

We weighed anchor on November 16^th and traveled 77 miles to and anchorage on the Crescent River, then 53 miles on the 17^th, stopping for fuel at Brunswick Georgia then anchoring at Jekyll Island, Georgia. Jekyll Island was one of our favorite towns to visit along the waterway.

Coastal South Carolina and Georgia are not our favorite cruising areas. Miles of salt marsh, no protection from wind, and 8 foot tidal swings. Oh, and coffee brown water.

On November 18^th we traveled 28 miles, anchoring at Cumberland Island Georgia. We passed Kings Bay, the U.S. Navy’s home port for the Atlantic Fleet’s ballistic missile nuclear submarines, capable of being armed with Trident missile nuclear weapons. Our anchorage location provided a view of any submarines transiting the waterway to the base. We were fortunate enough to see one of them escorted into the facility. The waterway going to the base is closed to all traffic when any warships approach the bay.

Cumberland Island is the largest of the Sea Islands of Georgia. The long-staple Sea Island cotton was first grown here by a local family, the Millers, who helped Eli Whitney develop the cotton gin. With its unusual range of wildlife (Loggerhead sea turtles, several species of birds, feral horses roam freely, Armadillos, and Hogs) the island has been declared a National Seashore. We walked a 3 mile trail when we were here in 2017, a truly amazing island to explore.

We weighed anchor on November 19^th, traveling only 8 miles timing the tidal current to dock at the Fernandina Beach Marina at slack tide. The marina is close to an inlet to the Atlantic Ocean and the current can be strong at the marina during tidal swings. Since there were multi-million dollar mega yachts at the marina, we like to eliminate any chance of control issues with wind or current when docking…...just sayin. 😕

We stayed at Fernandina 3 days due to a cold front passing through with 40 mph wind gust and 25-30 mph winds. This was a great marina and town to visit while waiting on the weather to settle.

We have arrived in Florida.

We departed the marina on November 22^nd and traveled 49 miles to an anchorage at Pine Island, then on the 23^rd traveling 67 miles to an anchorage at the Daytona Beach Memorial Bridge.

On November 24^th, we traveled 48 miles to Titusville, Florida and docked at the city marina. We intended to stay here for a week but the marina only had room for 3 days. We took advantage of the slip available and visited with family at Cocoa, Florida.  We had Manatee's and Dolphins to watch during our stay.

On November 27^th we traveled 42 miles to Melbourne, Florida and docked at the city marina for a week to spend time with family and to celebrate Thanksgiving, and Moni’s mother Delores’s 95^th birthday.

Happy Birthday Delores!

 Our December plan is to continue south to the Key's or Bahamas, all depending on the weather.

Solomons Island, MD to Chesapeake, VA

Total Miles Traveled 4613 since departing Green Turtle Bay, KY

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A cold front was expected to pass through the bay area with strong winds and rain, so we anchored at St John Creek, near Solomons Island Maryland for four days to let the bay settle down before moving south.

We weighed anchor on October 3^rd and traveled 45 miles to Tangier Island, Virginia. It pays to wait when the bay gets rough, we had an awesome cruise after departing our anchorage.

Tangier Island

Tangier island is only accessible by air or by boat and dockage for our boat is limited to three options, we were fortunate to have one opening available when we arrived. The dock is not a normal marina, the previous owner has passed away and the family now operates the docks. There is no contact by phone or radio so it’s first come first served dockage. There is power and water available, and you pay by the honor system by placing your money in a lock box at a nearby residence.

The island settlement dates back to the 1770’s with mostly farmers, but in the late 19^th century, the islanders began more dependent on harvesting crabs and oysters. Today, with a little over 400 residents, the islanders rely on crabbing to make a living and the island is often called the “soft-shell crab capital of the world”. The soft-shell crab dinner we had at the restaurant was very good.

Unfortunately, since 1850, the island’s landmass has been reduced by 67%. Under the mid-range sea level rise scenario, much of the remaining landmass is expected to be lost in the next 50 years and the town will likely be abandoned. One of the contributing factors to the sea level rise in the bay, is the silt and erosion from more than 150 major rivers and streams flowing into the bays 64 thousand square-mile drainage basin, which covers six states. We had to wait until low tide to leave the dock and still had to wade through water to get to town.

It appears their most popular mode of transportation is ATV's.

We departed Tangier Island on October 4^th and traveled 18 miles to Onancock, VA. We passed the USAS American Mariner, a retired missile tracking vessel, originally assigned to collect radar signature data on incoming missiles in the Caribbean, the South Atlantic Ocean, and the Indian Ocean. The navy moved it to shallow water in the Chesapeake Bay in 1966 to be used as a target ship for training navy pilots in her retirement. Decades of weapon testing by pilots flying out of Patuxent Naval Air Station took its toll on the ship. The hull continues to rust and deteriorate into the bay.

Onancock is known as the hidden gem of the eastern shore and we anchored here for a couple of days exploring the city, the food, and of course, the farmers market.

We weighed anchor on October 6^th and traveled 61 miles to York River Yacht Haven. Our main purpose for stopping was to pick up our mail that we had forwarded to the marina, and to visit the historic Yorktown across the river. Unfortunately, we arrived on Sunday and the museum and places we wanted to visit were closed Sunday and Monday, so we decided to keep moving south.

On October 8^th, we traveled 53 miles to Atlantic Yacht Basin, located on the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway in Chesapeake, VA. 

We passed through the Norfolk, VA area with a heavy military presence. 

This warship called us on the radio wanting to know our intentions, we agreed to pass port to port.

We have completed our loop around the Chesapeake Bay and surrounding areas, visiting 21 historical city’s, most of them dating back to the beginning of our country.

Atlantic Yacht Basin is a full service yacht repair and storage facility, family owned since 1936. I first heard about AYB in 2015, and since then have learned that if you need any repairs, this is the place to go for quality work.

We have a drip-less shaft seal on the port engine shaft that is not leaking, but completely out of adjustment. We have a few thousand miles to cover over the next several months before our next scheduled haul out, and decided to have it replaced now. Since the boat will be hauled out for seal replacement, we also are having new bottom paint applied along with new zincs on the shafts, bow thruster, and line cutters, and have a few minor gel-coat repairs attended to.

When traveling north, we took the Dismal Swamp route.  We chose to take the intracoastal route as we travel south, this is the main waterway for "snowbird" boaters leaving the northeast coast to warmer weather in the south.  While our boat was on the hard, we were located in front of the waterway giving us a birds eye view of the boats going past.

Before entering this section of the ICW, boats have to pass through a lock and a lift bridge.  The lock and bridge operate together at the top of every hour.  Before the bridge opens, the barricades drop to stop vehicle traffic, and a horn blast before the bridge opens.  When we here the horn every hour, we stop what we are doing and watch the "boat parade" migrating south. 

Our friends on m/v Inked Mermaid.

Our stop at Chesapeake Virginia took longer than we had planned, but we are very happy with the work completed, and are looking forward to heading south for the winter.